


To the Sea and Back

by BeachBum



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU Key West, Eren has long hair, F/F, Friendship to Love, Gen, Levi's a fish, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Mermaids, Slow Build, Welcome to Key West Mother Fudgers, beach bums, don't worry they pay for it, honestly pretty much everyone shows up, i promise that's the only fish related pun i'll ever make, mermaids are real, mild "animal" abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-01-19 13:29:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1471546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeachBum/pseuds/BeachBum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren and Mikasa, college students, live with their (crazy) aunt Hanji, a marine biologist in Key West, Florida. When Hanji goes on a trip to find, of all things, mermaids, they don’t think anything of it. But when she brings back a moody merman, and sticks Eren in charge of him, things start to get...fishy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Kiss

A Kiss

 

        I groaned and rolled over in bed, opening my eyes to the morning sun filtering through the slatted blinds of my bedroom window. I rolled over a few more times before actually getting up, tossing my comforter over my sheets in an attempt at making my bed, and pulling on some sweatpants before I headed downstairs, running a hand through my hair. Mikasa either wasn’t up yet, or had gone out, the latter of which seemed more likely. I rustled through the kitchen for cereal, and was headed towards the living room to sit and watch TV when the doorbell rang.

        I set my bowl and mug of coffee on the ledge near the front door and opened it. Before I’d even swung it out all the way, in came the bouncy blonde, with a cheery, “Hey, Eren!”

        “Gotta love your unannounced visits, Armin,” I said by way of greeting, following him back towards the living room, picking up my breakfast on the way.

        “Is Mikasa here?” he asked, sitting down on the couch while I turned the TV on, pressing the remote button with my free pinky finger, whilst balancing bowl and mug in my hands.

        “She went out,” I said, eating my now slightly soggy fruit loops. “I think she said something yesterday about meeting Annie.” I plopped down on the couch.

        “Their anniversary’s next week,” he said offhandedly.

        I raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”

        “How do you not know?” he replied snappily.

        I rolled my eyes, smirking. “Maybe because I don’t know everything about everyone all the time, unlike someone I know.”

        He sniffed haughtily and said, “Well, it is. You oughta know - it’s your sister.” He folded his legs under him while we watched some bad morning TV. “I wonder if they're doing anything special.”

        “Knowing those two, they’ll probably sit around and hate the world together.” Armin laughed. “Such romantics,” I snorted sarcastically.

        He shrugged. “I think they’re cute together.”

        I nodded. “Mikasa seems happy. That’s good enough for me,” I mumbled around a spoonful of cereal.

        We fell into a silence, Armin scrolling on his phone while I ate ravenously. He got up to grab a bottle of water, and as he walked back seemed to remember something. “When’s Hanji getting back?” he asked.

        I kicked back the last of my coffee and said, “Two days, I think.”

        He giggled. “I can’t believe she’s out there chasing mermaids.”

        I smiled fondly - Hanji was a crazy person, but she was our crazy person. “Yeah. But then again, she’s got a whole team with her - so she’s not the only one missing a few screws.”

        “I hope she’s having fun, anyway,” Armin said sincerely. We slumped around the house for another hour, watching TV and talking about random shit (“I’m just saying that if I did wake up one day as an eighty-foot giant, I think I’d be okay with it as long as the military didn’t get involved.”), until Armin got a text from Jean.

        He gave a little gasp and I looked over at him, realized he was on his phone and that he was blushing, and groaned.

        “Lemme guess. Jean Kirschtein,” I said.

        “He invited me to play volleyball at Higgs,” he said. Then he looked up, very excited, very about-to-ask-me-to-come-with.

         “No,” I deadpanned. He was not perturbed.

         “Please come,” he said, bouncing off the couch like a puppy that was just asked if it wanted to go on a walk. “Please!” he drawled.

         I sank deeper into the couch and scowled. “No,” I pouted.

         “Why not?” he asked insistently. “You love volleyball!”

         “Not with horse-faced Kirschtein, I don’t,” I mumbled moodily. I’d known the guy since grade school, and he’d always been snobby, stuck up, and all around jerkish, just because his family owned one of the giant mansions on South St. It wasn’t even like his family was crazy rich - they’d inherited the place. He was just an ass.

         Of course, Armin didn’t know that as well as I did, since he’d only moved here in my junior year. He barely even saw Jean in that one year at high school, but when he met him in our first year of college, he developed the annoying crush I was now forced to deal with.

         “He’s not that bad,” Armin said, looking at me with exasperation. I hated it when he did that. It made me feel like a child, when I was a whole head taller than him. “Connie and Sasha will be there. You won’t even have to talk Jean.”

         “I doubt that,” I said under my breath, since Jean pretty much always had a smartass remark ready for whenever I passed through his line of sight. And, of course, I had to respond.

         “What was that?” Armin said testily, hand on his hip.

         “Nothing, nothing,” I said, then sighed and sat up, looking at him. “I don’t actually have a choice, do I?”

         “None whatsoever,” he said happily. “Can we stop at my house on the way so I can get my swimsuit?”

         “Of course, my liege,” I said with gratuitous sarcasm, and he grinned. “When is it?”

         “Thirty minutes.”

         “Fucking of course it is.” I groaned and got up, while Armin continued smiling cheerily. “Lemme get changed.”

         I went upstairs and changed out of my sweats and ratty t-shirt, exchanging them for a pair of blue boardshorts and a white shirt. I ran my fingers through my bedhead as I went back downstairs. Armin tossed me my keys and I slid my feet into some sandals (alright, they’re flip-flops), and we went outside and around the side of the two story house to the overhang that served as a garage.

         I swung a leg over my motorcycle, an older Kawasaki Ninja I bought with all my earnings from my sophomore summer working at the ice cream stand at Smathers, then fixed until it purred (or as close to purring as it could get). I handed the passenger helmet back to Armin, - pretty much the only reason I have a passenger helmet - put mine on, reversed out of the driveway, and we were on our way.

         We rode past a couple miles of eclectic Key West housing before we pulled up in front of Armin’s cool tin-roofed house.

         “Two minutes,” he said as he quickly jumped off and let himself inside.  

         Ten minutes later he came back out in green trunks and a crewneck sweatshirt. As he was putting back on his helmet, I rubbed a glob of sunscreen off his nose. “Sometimes I forget you burn like the dainty rose petal you are,” I said, grinning as he punched me in the arm.

         “Not everyone’s as olive skinned and blessed with dumb luck as you are, jerk,” he said, grabbing onto my shirt as I laughed and revved the engine. We shot off down the street and in ten minutes we were in the sand-dusted parking lot of Higgs Beach.

         As soon as we walked up to where Jean was, he opened his mouth.

         “Armin! And shit-for-brains! Over here,” he said, grinning that giant stupid grin.

         “Hey Jean-” I called, ready to smack down, but Armin jabbed me in the ribs.

         “Coming!” Armin called happily, then quieter, to me, “Be nice, Eren. Please.”

         I huffed and grunted in acquiescence, and we walked over. Connie and Sasha were happy to see me, at least. Ymir, Reiner, and a bunch of other kids from school were there, too, so I didn’t have to talk to or look directly at Jean, as Armin had promised, but of course I kept glancing over at where they were talking, Armin looking cute and enthusiastic while Jean talked.

         Of all the people Armin had to fall for.

         Eventually we got around to picking teams. I actually ended up on Jean’s team, but only because he picked Armin, and Armin picked me. Reiner was the other captain. It was probably a good thing Jean and I were on the same team, because as it was we gave each other a ton of shit for missing a hit or getting caught in the net. At the very least, Armin rolled his eyes at both of us, not just me.

         But it was a pretty good game. The teams were equal, and everyone was into it - Sasha got a bit intense and scored a couple points, before she jumped to hit a low ball and crashed into the net in a tangle of limbs. The game ended shortly after and no one had kept score - another good reason Jean and I were on the same team.

         Connie, Sasha, Marco and I went for a short swim, and I tried to wash all the sand out of my hair. Sasha bullied us into participating in a game of chicken, and I was wobbling around with Marco on my shoulders (who, for the record, is not as light as his lanky look would lead you to believe), when I looked back over at the beach. Most of them were still milling around the volleyball area, but I spied Jean standing with Armin underneath a shady palm tree. I looked just in time to see Armin laughing, dappled sunlight playing over both of their faces, Jean leaning in, and then the kiss.

         Marco went flying backwards after a particularly feisty shove from Sasha, and I was gripping his legs so tightly, I fell backwards into the water with him, my eyes still wide open as salt water flooded into them.

         I burst out of the water coughing and spewing water, rubbing my eyes. Even with them burning as they were, I could see that Armin and Jean had turned to see what the splash was, and that Jean was smiling and waving.

          _This fucking bag of dicks._ I could feel my blood pressure spike and clenched my fists, but then I looked at Armin. He was blushing and smiling and giggling and just - fucking happy. Happy with a giant bag of dicks, but happy, nonetheless. I seethed and fell back into the water, submerging myself up to my nose, forcing myself to not go up there and beat the living shit out of Jean. For Armin’s sake.

         “What was all that about?” Sasha asked, a genuinely confused look on her face as Connie turned red from continually holding her up.

         I looked at the three of them, Marco pushing soaked hair out of his eyes. “You guys didn’t see that?” I asked.

         “See what?” Marco asked inquisitively.

         I glanced back at the shore, and saw Armin and Jean walking back towards the group, brushing shoulders, Jean rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Nothing,” I muttered. Then I stood up and shook my hair out, spraying them like a wet dog. “I think I’m gonna head home.”

         “Aw, so soon?” Sasha asked, and right then Connie gave up and collapsed, and they both went down with a splash. I grinned and Marco laughed.

         “Yeah,” I answered as they righted themselves. “I’ll see you guys around, yeah?”

         “Sure,” Marco said easily.

         “See ya around,” Connie and Sasha yelped in unison, yanking each other's hair.

         I waded up to the beach, and rubbed the salt water out of my ears as I headed towards my t-shirt and sandals. I sat down on the sand and waited dry off a little bit.

         Armin dropped down next to me abruptly, and I glanced over at him. He was bursting with joy.

         “You look happy,” I said.

         “You saw, right? That’s why Jean was waving at you,” he said rapidly.

         I smirked. “Yeah, I saw." Then, as an afterthought, "He’s still a jackass.”

         “I don’t even care. He was so sweet, and it was so...perfect. The wind, the sun, his hair-”

         “Let’s not go into anymore detail than that, please,” I said.

         “And he smelled so good. It was his cologne mixed with sea spray. God, I wish I could bottle it.” He smiled giddily at my annoyed expression. “Come on,” he sang. “You know you’re happy for me.”

         I rolled my eyes, smiling. “Whatever, Armin.”

         “You’re so thrilled.”

         “‘Thrilled’s a funny word for it,” I said smartly. “But I guess.”

         He laughed and a couple minutes later, when I was dry enough, I shrugged on my shirt and we left. Armin waved ecstatically at Jean, and I was pleased to see that he smiled genuinely and waved back, a pink tinge in his cheeks that wasn’t from the sun.

         “Wanna grab lunch?” Armin asked as we walked towards my bike.

         I shook my head no, suddenly feeling tired. “Nah. I wanna go home and see if Mikasa’s there. You can come hang if you want.”

         “Okay,” Armin said as we got on. “I bet she’ll be happy to hear about Jean and I. And not just on the inside, but on her face, too.”

         “I think that’s a fifty-fifty bet, my friend.”

         “He asked me on a date, too, ya know. Just in case you were wondering.”

         I considered that for a moment. “Congratulations?”

         We started out of the parking lot, and I could feel him rolling his eyes. “Wow, you’re bad at this.”

         “I really am glad for you,” I added pathetically, sincerely.

         “I know.” We couldn’t talk once we started going at a good speed, but I felt the warmth in Armin’s words, so there wasn’t really anything to say.

         In fifteen minutes we were back at my house. Mikasa’s beat up, old, blue Camaro was under the overhang, and I parked in the grass next to it. I spied Armin’s bike leaning against one of the poles of the overhang. It was a menagerie of pitiful vehicles, apparently.

         We went inside to find Mikasa sitting on the floor, playing Far Cry 3.

         “Oh my God,” I blurted.

         She turned impassively to look at us.

         “You cut your hair!” Armin said excitedly. “It looks so good.”

         She paused the game and touched her hair, looking just barely embarrassed. “Oh, yeah. You like it?”

         “Yeah, you rock it,” I said, and Armin nodded eagerly.

         “Is that where you went with Annie?” Armin asked.

         Unsurprised that Armin knew where she was, she said, “Yeah. She came for moral support.”

         “That’s sweet.” Armin said.

         Mikasa blushed slightly, and said quickly to me, “You need a haircut, too. Mine’s shorter than yours, now.”

         I ran a hand through my hair and examined it briefly, then shrugged. “I like it this way.”

         “Makes you look like a beach bum,” she said bluntly.

         “Perfect,” I said proudly.

         Armin, from the kitchen, called excitedly, “Guess what happened at the beach, Mikasa!” She looked at me in askance, and I just smiled and fell onto the couch, feeling tired and worn out from the sun.

         The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. Well, not quietly, since Armin was chattering away while Mikasa listened intently, always the impeccable listener. But it was calm, uneventful. I worked on a paper due thursday, hardly getting a word of it done. Armin left for dinnertime, and Mikasa and I ordered takeout with some of the money Hanji left us. Hanji herself called my phone around eight.

         “Hey, Hanji.”

         “Hey, kiddo! How’s things?” She sounded wired and jittery, and I guess Mikasa heard her loud voice, because she waved at the phone.

         “Great,” I said. “Mikasa says hi.”

         “Hi Mikasa!” she screamed, and Mikasa smiled as I held my poor ear.  

         “She definitely heard you.”

         “Great,” she said, and then paused. When she started again, her voice was lowered to a more reasonable level. “Well, listen. I wanted to call to check up on you guys, make sure the house is still standing?-”

         “That would be a yes,” I said at her prompting.

         “Awesome. Also.” Now her voiced dropped to an intense whisper. “We sighted them.”

         I furrowed my brow. “Sighted what?”

         “The mermaids!” she hissed. “And mermen. They’re fascinating.”

         I hesitated. “Um, okay. So...are you still coming home in two days?” I asked. Now Mikasa was looking at me curiously, interest piqued.

         “That’s the plan. We’re gonna try to catch one tomorrow.”

         “Catch one?” I asked.

         “Of course! We need to bring one back to study, don’t we?” She said it like it was obvious, but I was still stuck on the “mermaid” part. “Hopefully we’ll catch one tomorrow, and be back on Thursday.”

         My mouth had dropped open in confusion, and it took me a second to gather the thought to say, “Well, um, I guess we’ll see you Thursday, then.”

         “I’ll let you know if we stay longer. Talk to you soon, kiddo!” she said, and the line went dead.

         I lowered the phone to my lap and stared at it.

         “What happened?” Mikasa asked.

         “I - she,” I focused my thoughts. “She says they’ve seen mermaids." Mikasa stared at me, and I stared back at her. “Like...she said that seriously,” I elaborated eloquently. “Maybe they’re smoking or something.”

         “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Mikasa said, looking confused - not a common expression for her. “But she’s coming home Thursday?”

         I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah. I mean, they’re gonna try and “catch one” tomorrow, and then they’ll come back.” I shook my head. “I don’t know how she earned her marine biology degree.”

         “At least we have a reason to look forward to Thursday,” she offered.

         “At least there’s that,” I agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super happy to be posting my first fic on AO3! I hope you enjoyed it. Chapter 2 will be here soon!
> 
> Tune in next time for: A Merman!


	2. A Merman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren passes the days until Thursday at a painful crawl - but it's worth it when Hanji finally arrives with a glorious, amazing, and above all, mysterious, mythical beast in tow.

        Wednesday passed by slowly. I worked on my paper on bioluminescence most of the day, laying in the hammock in the backyard, before moving to the couch, then the floor, dragging my textbooks along with me. I just don’t work well sitting in the same place.

        Mikasa had classes in the morning, so I didn’t see her until she came home at noon. Armin worked on Wednesdays as a waiter at Blue Heaven, but we texted back and forth sporadically throughout the day

(“i’m soooooo excited for my date tomorrow”

“never would have guessed.”).

        I went out and grabbed a sub and coffee, then got back to work. I polished off the paper around eight, and then Mikasa and I made pizza - from scratch, with dough from Publix and some bacon and mozzarella cheese. In honor of Hanji’s imminent return, we watched the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean - the one with the mermaids. Turned out to be less about the mermaids and more about the fountain of youth. And Mikasa and I agreed - we missed Orlando Bloom.

        I took a shower and studied microbiology until I couldn’t take it anymore, shut off the light and settled in to sleep. I stayed up for a little while, though, thinking about Hanji’s mermaids. She hadn’t called to tell us if she was staying out longer, so I could only assume she was keeping to her schedule. So she’d be back tomorrow. Whether it would be with a mermaid in tow, I wasn’t so sure. I was never really sure of anything with Hanji, except that she meant well.

        Eventually I fell asleep out of pure exhaustion.

        I got up early the next day for classes. Mikasa and I went to Key Community College, and it was about a thirty minute drive away from the house. I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt from a marathon I ran in high school, grabbed my bag and some breakfast, and headed out. I was studying marine biology like Hanji - partly because it was fascinating, and partly because it always kept me close to the ocean. We went on labs out in the keys on boats, examined coral shelves for research projects. Today, though, everything was in the classroom. I turned in my paper in organic chemistry, took notes, and texted Armin, who finished his morning classes and then went to his date with Jean. I provided moral support until one, when he let me know he was at Paseo, about to meet Jean. After that there was nothing to do but take notes.

        As I walked out of my last class, Mikasa called me.

        “Hey, Mikasa,” I answered, standing by my bike as I pressed my phone to my ear.

        “Hey,” she said. “Hanji’s home. She wants us to come meet her at the aquarium.”

         “To see the-”

         “Yes,” she snipped.

         “You don’t think it’s really-”

         “I don’t know,” she said uneasily. “I’m headed over there now. How long until you’re there?”

         “I’ll come straight over, so thirty minutes,” I said, tightening my bag around my shoulders and getting on my bike.

         “She’ll probably freak over my hair long enough for you to make it before she drags me to see...whatever she brought home.”

         I laughed. “Don’t worry. Big brother’s coming.”

         “Sure,” she muttered, and the line went dead.

         I smirked and headed out of the school parking lot, weaving through the clusters of cars, ignoring the honks. I drove a little too fast across Key West, and I’ll admit I was excited to see the “mermaid” Hanji captured. I made it in twenty five minutes, checking my phone as stood my bike and then headed quickly towards the marine center behind the aquarium.

         I entered the little welcome building, ignoring the closed sign.

         “Sorry, we’re - oh, Eren.” Petra smiled nicely, standing up from where she was crouched beside a box of files. She looked tan from the week spent on the research boat, and more than a little tired. “I guess Hanji called both of you to see.” There was a spark of excitement in her eyes that I wouldn’t have expected from her. She was usually more reserved and solemn, only bemused or surprised, never excited. “He’s so cool,” she said, biting her lip.

         “He?” I asked, quirking a brow.

         She put a hand over her mouth. “Woops,” she said. “I’m already spoiling things.” She smiled and waved towards the door to the tanks and docks. “Go on. They’re at the open aquarium.”

         “Thanks,” I said, opening the door and ending up back outside, but in the area with the tanks. There were the sea lions, Rosy and Mickey, and three dolphins: Layla, Charlemagne, and Bean (“Bean” was Hanji’s idea). All of them were in large, clean enclosures, and all of them were rescues. That was the Key Rescue Marine Center’s purpose. Any research came second.

         I walked through the enclosures out to the open aquarium. It was basically the largest of the enclosures, with underwater gates that opened directly to the ocean.The bottom was rocky, and water was circulated from the outside water through vents. They usually only used it when they were preparing an animal to be released back into the wild.

         Hanji and Mikasa were standing at the edge of the aquarium. Hanji was gesturing wildly, and Mikasa was staring down at the water.

         As I approached them, I heard Hanji say, “He’s hiding now, but he’s a real beauty.”

         “Welcome home,” I said, and Hanji spun around, smiling.

         “Kiddo!” she yelped, and then gave me a fearsome bear hug. She held me at arm’s length and looked at me critically. Then she turned to Mikasa and said, “See, I think your hair would look nice at something more like Eren’s length. Shoulders, maybe-”

         “I think she looks great,” I said quickly, because Mikasa looked annoyed. Obviously, she’d been right about Hanji bugging out about her hair.

         “She’ll look great no matter what she does,” Hanji said affectionately. Mikasa looked away stonily, blushing. “Now, Eren, come look,” Hanji said hurriedly, pointing at the water. “By that little rock shelf near the side.”

         It was bright and sunny out, and the water in the aquarium was filtered of debris, so clear I located the shelf without issue. Peeking out from under it was a long, flowing blue fin.

         “That’s him,” Hanji whispered excitedly, bouncing on her heels. It made a bumping sound on the wooden boards around the aquarium, and the fin twitched and receded further into the rock’s shadow. “Oops.” She stopped and frowned. “He’s been very skittish - hasn’t come out from there since we let him into the aquarium.”

         I craned my neck to try and see. For all I knew, Hanji could’ve been saying “mermaid” as marine biologist lingo for something else all along, but that was seeming less and less likely. No fish could sit still like that fin was for that long without drowning.

         “And I have _amazing_ news for you, Eren,” Hanji continued, her tone growing excited again. “I need someone to record observations on him, and that someone is gonna be you. I want you to stay over the weekend to watch him.”

         “I - what?” I asked incredulously, turning to look at her. “Me?”

         “Yeah! I’ve been meaning to have you start interning here, and what better time to start than now, with a merman in our midst?” She clapped her hands together happily. “This is going to be incredible, Eren. You’ll be famous before you’re even out of college.”

         Mikasa stared at me, and I suddenly felt like Hanji had pushed me into the deep end of the scientific competency pool. “Hanji, I don’t think I’m qualified-”

         “Please, Eren,” she said, waving off my protests. “I’m not asking you to dissect anything - in fact, if you lay a single finger on him I’ll woop your ass. It’s just observation. Maybe some feeding. Whatever.” She smiled. “You’ll do fine. Why don’t you start today?”

         “You mean - right now?” I asked, looking back at the little strip of blue.

         “Yep. I need to take a shower. You can stay here and hold down the fort,” she said, winking.

         “I - um - sure,” I stammered. I felt pushed upon and strangely violated, but there was some excitement mixed up in there, too.

         Hanji sighed in relief. “Great. I need to get out of here for a couple hours.She turned and Mikasa started walking towards the welcome building. Hanji called over her shoulder, “I’ll let Petra know you’re staying.”

         I watched them until they disappeared into the building, vaguely hearing Hanji's pervasive voice as she said goodbye to Petra.

         I dropped my bag to the boards and sat down near the edge of the aquarium, hoping that I could see under the rock at a better angle. A little bit more of the tail fin was all I got. I got out a notebook and pen, opened to a fresh page, and wrote "Merman" on the top, staring at the word for a couple seconds before I shrugged and set it on the floor in front of me. I wrote that he was hiding under the rock shelf in my messy handwriting, then leaned back and waited.

         I must've sat there for an hour, staring at the blue fin, checking my watch, checking my phone, eventually lying back on the wooden boards and closing my eyes to the sun.

         I sighed and rolled over, peeling down into the water, freezing when I saw that he'd moved. Still under the shelf, but turned around, so that I could see his face - or kind of see it, anyway. He was still in the shadows, and the blur of the water didn't help, either. But I could see his eyes, dark and narrowed, staring up at me. Glaring, really.

         I sat up to write it down, and he immediately spun around, leaving only the tip of his tail exposed again. But I saw the twist of a scaled body, and scribbled it all down.

         At least there wasn't any doubt about whether he was actually a merman anymore.

         I kept watching, but before he did anything else significant, I heard Hanji's springy steps coming from the welcome building, and turned to see her coming over. Her hair was wet from a shower and she was wearing fresh clothes. Petra was walking beside her, her footsteps muted out of deference to the animals.

         "I was just telling Petra about your internship," Hanji said as they approached.

         "It's gonna be great having you, Eren," Petra said with a smile.

         I rubbed the back of my head self consciously. "Well, I don't know how helpful I'll be-"

         "Put a sock in it," Hanji said in mock exasperation. "He's gonna be great, right?" she said to Petra, and Petra nodded sagely.

         "Either way," I said, grinning, "you shouldn't be encouraging nepotism, Hanji."

         "Bah. Nepotism, shnepotism," she said with a shrug. "I run the center, we need an extra set of hands, and you're qualified." She grinned mischievously. "What's so wrong about that?"

         I shook my head and smiled. Petra walked to the edge of the aquarium and crouched down next to me, squinting into the water.

         "Guess he hasn't moved?" Petra asked, sounding a little worried.

         "Actually, he did," I said. "He turned around so I could sort of see his face. But then I moved and gave me the fin again," I said. "He was glaring at me," I added, a little downcast.

         Petra laughed and Hanji said, "Yeah, he does that."

         "He glared at anyone who came near the tank on the boat," Petra explained. "I guess you're officially part of the team now."

         I looked at Hanji.

         “Welcome aboard, kiddo!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna wait until next week, but then I realized I promised mermaids, and I ought to deliver mermaids!
> 
> Well, technically I only delivered a single mermaid - but I think that counts. Hope you liked it!
> 
> Tune in next week for: A Sleepover!


	3. A Sleep Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren starts his observation assignment.

I hardly slept that night - despite the fact that I knew I had classes in the morning. We ate dinner and then I stayed up until two in the morning, my eyes burning from staring at my computer screen, where I was conducting an intense googling session about all things mermaid. There were no facts, just myths and fairytales, but I inhaled it all. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I was supposed to be studying for a test, but I kept thinking of new questions.

I just wanted to know so many things. Would he have gills? Did he eat fish or algae - or maybe even plankton? Would he share the same lower body structure as a tuna or a dorado?

I wanted to grill Hanji about everything she’d seen on the trip, but she’d barely been able to stay awake as we cleaned the dishes. She was always exhausted after she came back from a long research trip.

Mikasa came in once some time before twelve, glanced at my screen, called me a nerd and said goodnight. I fell asleep with my fingers still on the mousepad.

The next morning was hell waking up, with Hanji banging on my door to tell me I’d overslept. I bookmarked the website I’d been reading and rubbed the grime out of my eyes and nearly fell while I was putting on my jeans. I brushed my teeth, went downstairs and burnt my esophagus downing a cup of coffee, let Hanji force a waffle wrapped in a paper towel on me.

“You start your observation at the center tonight! Don’t forget!” she yelled after me as I hurried out the door, waffle in my mouth, bag slung haphazardly over one shoulder.

“Mm mmoond!” I shouted through the waffle.

I got to class a minute late, trying to walk as discreetly as possible towards a seat near the back.

I shared that class - English - with Armin, and had felt his texts buzzing in my bug as I’d driven way too fast on Roosevelt Blvd. He turned around to look at me, his face chastising. Under the desk he pulled out his phone.

(“where were you?”

“slept in late”

“someone was busy last night. who’s the lucky lady?”)

I rolled my eyes, and his blonde head turned to smile innocently at me.

(“it’s a guy, actually”

“you really do go with the flow”

“yep. I was up all night researching him.”

“getting a little creepy”

“because my guy’s a MERMAN”)

There was a pause in the conversation, and I stared at the back of his head while he apparently processed that information.

(“okay are you 100% sure he’s a merman?”

“Hanji got back yesterday. i saw him. i’m sure”

“holy crap. THAT’S SO COOL. when do i get to see him?”

“seriously?”

“is he cute? i bet he has washboard abs.”

“i could not tell you. he was hiding in the open aquarium so i didn’t get a really good look.”

“well i’m sure he’s at least a little cute.”

“i’ll be sure to let him know. assuming he speaks English.”) Huh. Hadn’t thought about that one. Maybe he sang siren songs.

(“is Hanji letting you see him a lot?”

“you could say that”

“...”

“she’s making me an intern and my first assignment is merman observation. i’m spending this weekend at the center and i’m pretty sure the whole thing is against the unspoken laws of scientists”

“oh man that sounds awesome. can i come see?”

“just talk to Hanji first. she basically said she’d annihilate me if anything happens to this merman.”

“will do”)

I smirked at the back of his head, ready to move on to what was really on his mind.

(“so. how’d the date go?”

“i don’t think i want to tell you anymore. i was expecting you to call last night to ask.”

“drama queen. i’m guessing it was good?”

“more like AMAZING. or maybe perfect.”

“did you guys just eat at Paseo?”

“no, we went over to the lighthouse and spent a couple hours there, then we got coffee and he drove me home.”

“sounds like he was decent enough”

“way more than decent.”)

I grinned and watched as the back of his neck turned a little red.

(“sounds like a second date is in your future”

“yeah, sunday. we’re gonna go see Captain America since it’s supposed to be raining”

“his treat?”

“yeah”

“dig that gold”

“eren!”)

English passed fast enough, and then I was in calculus for what felt like a very long two hours, without Armin there for entertainment. He was in one of his engineering classes, where he needed to actually pay attention. By my last class, I’d lost all my focus, my eyes zeroed in on the clock, tapping my blank notebook with a pen.

The bell rang, and I tossed my stuff in my bag and hurried out, meeting Armin outside his classroom and then walking to the parking lot.

“You’re excited,” Armin said with a sly grin as he tugged on my extra helmet.

“Am I?” I asked, shrugging and swinging my leg over the bike.

“Yeah. You’re all twitchy and tense,” he said, climbing on behind me and grabbing my waist. “Does science turn you on, Eren?”

“Oh, God, please shut up,” I groaned, and he laughed as we weaved through the crowded parking lot and peeled out into the street.

My driving was rushed as we zoomed down palm tree-shaded roads, and more than once Armin’s fingers dug into my ribcage, but I didn’t mind, or care, really. We pulled up in front of his house, and he jumped off, unclipping his helmet with a smile.

“I hope you survive the drive over there,” he said smartly, and I grinned.

“Thanks. I’ll see you Monday?”

“Yeah,” he said, and I revved the engine. “Have fun with your merman!” he called as I shot off down the street.

When I got to the house, it was empty, and I stomped up the stairs, grabbing a gym bag and throwing in clothes, underwear, a toothbrush, my laptop and a notebook, zipping it up, and rushing back out to my bike.

I parked my bike and jogged up the steps to the welcome center, ignoring the closed sign and letting myself in. Petra was nowhere to be seen, and I headed out to the aquariums, trying to keep my footsteps muted on the wooden boards. Hanji and Petra were at the edge of the open aquarium, with a blue bucket of fish next to them. Petra was rubbing the back of her neck, and Hanji was crouched on her haunches, gazing into the aquarium.

“Hey,” I called, waving as I walked towards them.

They both looked over their shoulders and smiled. “Hey, kiddo!”

“You’re early,” Petra remarked.

I shrugged. “I’ve got nothing better to do,” I said with a sheepish smile. “What’re you guys doing?”

“We’re trying to give him some food,” Hanji explained.

“We thought raw fish would be a good place to start, but he’s not showing any interest,” Petra said, biting her lip.

“Where is-” I started, leaning to glance into the aquarium for the first time, and stopping short when I saw him.

He was at the underwater gate that opened to the sea, running his hands along the barnacle-tinged metal surface. I stared at those hands, taking in the webbing between the long fingers, see through and feintly veined. His scaled mermaid tail was a mixed and mottled sapphire blue and peacock green, with gold scales creating strange, curved patterns that met at the fins, which were streaked pale blue and gold. His short black hair was flowing in the water, and although I couldn’t see his face, the view of his jaw already gave the impression of something like a Greek sculpture.

“Holy fuck.” I couldn’t help it. “He’s gorgeous,” I said, and I thought I saw his head turn a fraction.

Petra chuckled as Hanji said, “That’s what I’m saying! You probably thought I was nuts,” she scoffed, standing up with a groan and punching me in the arm. “Well, there’s your observation subject.”

The next three hours were spent with Hanji showing me where everything was. Even though I’d kind of grown up spending weekends at the Center, I’d never done much besides help feed the dolphins and sea lions, because it wasn’t really professional for them to let me do anything else. Hanji showed me the kitchen where they prepared all the food for them - not just the raw fish, but also where they made these nasty fish slushies mixed with supplements, and where they kept the medications and vitamins they snuck in the fish. They showed me where they kept the supplies for keeping the pools clean - brushes, nets hooked on long poles, squeegees and hoses. There was a horde of toys in a pool box for the sea lions and dolphins. There was a bathing station for the sea lions. Then there were the places for the humans, the rooms with the keys to the enclosures and the chemical room, a real kitchen with a stash of popcorn, coffee, apples, and frozen pizzas, and a room with two beds for when people worked the nights - for me, in this instance.

“So just make yourself at home, and do some night observation,” Hanji was summarising as we walked back to the open aquarium. “We’ll be here sometimes in the day. If something goes wrong, just keep calm and call us, got it?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed as Petra looked up, looking dejected.

“He’s still not eating,” she said dejectedly, a raw fish in her hand, dangling over the water. There was real distress in her eyes, prowling in the shadows of them. “I’m worried.”

The merman was still in front of the doors, one hand touching it, the webbed fingers spread against it.

“We just need to keep trying,” Hanji said reassuringly.

“Maybe you should try a different fish,” I suggested.

“Exactly,” Hanji said. “Trial and error.”

Petra nodded, looking up at me as she stayed kneeled on the boards. “Eren, will you try to get him to eat? I want to stay, but I promised Mike I’d be there tonight.”

“Of course,” I said, feeling oddly honoured that she was asking me. “Sure, I’ll try everything you have in that kitchen,” I said, smiling.

“Good,” she said, relief dropping the tension from her slim shoulders. She dropped the fish in the bucket. “I’ll give this to the dolphins, then. After I have to go.”

Hanji and I both said something of the affirmative nature, and Hanji added, “Give Bean an extra one for me.”

“Can you handle it?” Hanji asked seriously.

“Yeah, I think so,” I said, nodding.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow!” she said cheerfully, giving me mood change whiplash.

“You’re going?” I asked stupidly, watching as she practically skipped towards the welcome building.

“With you here, why would I stay?” she asked. “There’s a reason I hired you, Eren!” she sang, as she disappeared into the building without so much as a “See ya, kiddo!”

“You’re not paying me,” I mumbled to myself, my eyes drawing themselves back to the merman, who was almost completely still, accept for the occasional readjustment of his tail fin, or a twitch of his webbed fingers. “I guess it’s just you and me.”

        It was almost sunset by the time I’d gotten my laptop and notebook and had set up a little observation camp in front of the open aquarium, all on a towel. Gentle blue lights fixed into the rocks of the aquarium turned on as the sun fell behind the horizon, illuminating the environment. In the animal kitchen, I tossed one of every type of raw fish into a bucket and took it to the aquarium, setting it down on the boards. The bump it made caused him to twitch his head, and I sat down next to the edge, taking off my shoes.

        I took a second to look at him again, and noticed that his ears were slightly pointed, and flatter than human ears, with a different set of curves in the cartilage. On his neck there were thin gills, rhythmically releasing small schools of bubbles. His forearms had small fins on the outside of them, the same color and texture as his tail fin. I recorded it all in my notebook, and then reached for the first fish in the bucket.

        “So,” I said awkwardly, wrinkling my nose at the smell as I held onto the tail fin and waved it a little bit. “What’s your opinion on sardines?”

        I tried tapping on the boards, dragging the fish through the water, splashing, but he didn’t do anything except to reposition his tail underneath him, kind of coiling it under his torso, like he was getting comfortable.

        “Yeah, me neither,” I muttered, exchanging the sardine for a halibut. “This is pretty expensive stuff. Any interest?”

        I repeated the same process, without success. “Not even a taste? Okay.”

        I looked around in the bucket, trying to pick the right thing. I grabbed onto the dainty fin of a yellowtail snapper and dangled it over the water. “Come on, eat something.”

        I splashed it around and finally got a reaction. His shoulders stiffened, and after a very long moment, he glanced over his shoulder at me, and I felt my mouth drop open.

        He was gorgeous. In a really scary, mean kind of way, those black eyes I’d seen before narrowed and hard as onyx, his mouth tugged into what seemed like a nearly permanent frown. But the features were fine and sharp, like they’d been painstakingly carved.

        “Wow,” I mouthed, then swallowed and asked, “This one, then?”

        Of course, there was no response, but I took a chance and tossed the snapper out towards him, it hitting the water and slowly sinking towards the bottom of the floor, a foot or two away from him.

        Right when I thought he’d let it hit the bottom and ignore it, he spun around lightning fast, the tail fin flashing out and propelling him so he could snatch the snapper up. I stared as he then felt around the floor for a minute or so, until he found what he was looking for - a loose shard of rock that formed a sharp edge. He then proceeded to skin the fish expertly, the scales sliding off under his deft hands. Then he sliced the meat off, right off the fucking bones, in bite sized pieces and started to eat, and I caught sight of sharp, pointed teeth, almost like a shark’s.

        “Holy shit. That’s amazing,” I said, his hard eyes lifting up to meet mine, before they dropped down and he continued to eat, apparently apathetic to me watching him.

        I couldn’t write it down fast enough, watching him pick the fish clean and then drop the bones in a corner. He turned to stare at me, and this time it wasn’t so harsh, tinged by a faint interest.

        “I’ll be right back,” I said, then grabbed the bucket and ran to the kitchen, putting the rest of the fish back and grabbing all the snapper - which was only three.

        When I went back, he was on the surface, the top half of his head above the water, and I was kind of in awe, at the way the lights from below reflected on his face, at how different he looked when his hair was flat on his head. He stayed there, watching me as I sat back down, his eyes flicking to the bucket, watching my hand as I grabbed a fish and then tossed it out to him. His eyes tracked it through the air, and then one very fast hand snatched out of space, because I’d overshot and it was going to sail over his head. He resubmerged and did the same thing as before, but even better, it seemed, now that he’d used the rock once. Two more fish sailed out to him as he resurfaced for more, but after that I ran out.

        “Sorry,” I said, lifting the bucket to show him that it was empty. “That’s all I’ve got.”

        He apparently understood, because he went back under, turning upside down as he swam towards the bottom, so that his tail fin flicked out of the water for second, splashing me with a spray of water as if to say, “Then begone, numskull.”

        I huffed and dried my face off with my shirt, moving away from the wet spot back onto the towel where my computer was.

        I watched him swim around for a couple minutes, his entire lower body moving in a smooth wave, his torso straight and strong. The aquarium was only about twenty feet wide, and shaped like a circle, so there was only so much space to swim around before he grew bored.

        He must be really fucking bored, actually, I thought, watching as he stopped near a cleft in the rock bottom and examined a fossil formation pressed into it, brushing his fingertips over it. After a while he curled under a shelf in the rocks and seemed to doze, his eyes drifting shut and then snapping open. Eventually he seemed to fall asleep, resting, at least. It was one o’clock in the morning.

        I wrote down a couple more observations - that he seemed to like to feel things, not just see them, and that when he slept it was on his side - and then waited a while to see if he’d wake up. I got the idea to sleep by the aquarium, and went to grab a pillow and a blanket from the room with the beds, and then laid down, gazing up at the night sky. I double checked that he was still sleeping, and then, exhausted from being wound up all day, I passed out listening to the hum of the pumps for the aquariums.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys are still with me after that really long wait: thank you! And I will try to keep a better schedule. Expect the next chapter by next Saturday

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super happy to be posting my first fic on AO3! I hope you enjoyed it. Chapter 2 should come soon!
> 
> Tune in next time for: A Merman!


End file.
